(7) Iris
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	16 Sep 2026	11.4	2.855 AU	3.775 AU	12h42m	-08°25'	20.5°	7.1°
Opposition	25 May 2027	9.5	2.889 AU	1.876 AU	16h05m	-23°11'	177.7°	0.8°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Iris are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2302746
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3857463
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.51857
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 259.48510
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 145.40717
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 115.29166
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 225.01657
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.12983
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.68            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-09-16 00:00 UT   12 42 02.7   -08 25 55     3.775    2.855   20.5    7.1   123   11.4 
2026-09-16 20:37 UT   12 43 17.2   -08 33 09     3.780    2.856   20.0    6.9   123   11.4 
2026-09-17 00:00 UT   12 43 29.4   -08 34 20     3.781    2.856   19.9    6.9   123   11.4 
2026-09-18 00:00 UT   12 44 56.2   -08 42 46     3.786    2.857   19.3    6.7   123   11.4 
2026-09-19 00:00 UT   12 46 23.1   -08 51 12     3.791    2.858   18.7    6.5   124   11.4 
2026-09-20 00:00 UT   12 47 50.1   -08 59 38     3.797    2.859   18.2    6.3   124   11.4 
2026-09-21 00:00 UT   12 49 17.1   -09 08 04     3.802    2.860   17.6    6.1   124   11.4 
2026-09-22 00:00 UT   12 50 44.3   -09 16 30     3.806    2.861   17.0    5.9   125   11.4 
2026-09-23 00:00 UT   12 52 11.6   -09 24 56     3.811    2.862   16.4    5.7   125   11.4 
2026-09-24 00:00 UT   12 53 39.0   -09 33 22     3.816    2.864   15.8    5.5   125   11.3 
2026-09-25 00:00 UT   12 55 06.4   -09 41 47     3.820    2.865   15.2    5.3   126   11.3 
2026-09-26 00:00 UT   12 56 34.0   -09 50 13     3.824    2.866   14.7    5.1   126   11.3 
2026-09-27 00:00 UT   12 58 01.6   -09 58 38     3.829    2.867   14.1    4.9   127   11.3 
2026-09-28 00:00 UT   12 59 29.3   -10 07 02     3.832    2.868   13.5    4.7   127   11.3 
2026-09-29 00:00 UT   13 00 57.1   -10 15 27     3.836    2.869   12.9    4.5   128   11.3 
2026-09-30 00:00 UT   13 02 25.0   -10 23 51     3.840    2.870   12.4    4.3   129   11.3 
2026-10-01 00:00 UT   13 03 53.0   -10 32 14     3.844    2.871   11.8    4.1   129   11.3 
2026-10-02 00:00 UT   13 05 21.1   -10 40 38     3.847    2.872   11.2    3.9   130   11.3 
2026-10-03 00:00 UT   13 06 49.2   -10 49 00     3.850    2.873   10.7    3.7   131   11.3 
2026-10-04 00:00 UT   13 08 17.5   -10 57 22     3.853    2.874   10.1    3.5   132   11.3 
2026-10-05 00:00 UT   13 09 45.8   -11 05 44     3.856    2.875    9.5    3.3   133   11.3 
2026-10-06 00:00 UT   13 11 14.2   -11 14 05     3.859    2.876    9.0    3.1   134   11.2 
2026-10-07 00:00 UT   13 12 42.7   -11 22 26     3.862    2.877    8.4    2.9   136   11.2 
2026-10-08 00:00 UT   13 14 11.3   -11 30 45     3.864    2.878    7.9    2.7   138   11.2 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.